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The Lobster
Lobster Johnson is a fictional character featured in the Hellboy and B.P.R.D. comic books published by Dark Horse Comics. He was created by Mike Mignola. Within the Hellboy universe, Lobster Johnson was a vigilante who worked in secret in New York City during the 1930s. Although the public believes that The Lobster was only the hero of pulp serials and comics, he was a real man who faced gangsters as well as paranormal threats. Johnson had a reputation for violence, such as killing mobsters and burning his trademark lobster claw symbol into their foreheads. He first appeared in the side story "Lobster Johnson: The Killer in My Skull" that accompanied Hellboy: Box Full of Evil #1. Character Biography Life and Death Late in the Thirties, Lobster Johnson and his sidekick deal with the Nazi threat to the United States. One of his unsuccessful missions (told in flashback during the story Night Train) involved the escape of a Nazi criminal who destroyed a train full of scientists bound for The Manhattan Project. This mission led to the death of Johnson's sidekick. Johnson began to work as an independent agent for the U.S. government. Lobster Johnson's final mission was an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the Nazis from launching a space capsule at Hunte Castle, Austria on 20 March 1939 (in the prologue of Hellboy: Conqueror Worm). Although he managed to force the roof of Hunte Castle to close before the launch, the capsule managed to burst through. The subsequent explosion and fire within the castle killed everyone except Nazi scientist Herman von Klempt. The Ghost of Lobster Johnson has been seen numerous times in the B.P.R.D. comic. In Conqueror Worm Lobster Johnson helped to fight Nazis, but since then has primarily been involved with stopping Memnon Saa. Legacy According to B.P.R.D. Director Tom Manning (in Conqueror Worm) Lobster Johnson was a fictional character created in the pulp magazines and made briefly popular in a couple of movies such as The Phantom Jungle (Republic, 1945) in which he was portrayed by Vic Williams. Publication History 'The Killer in My Skull' Lobster Johnson made his first appearance in The Killer in My Skull by Mike Mignola, Matthew Dow Smith and Ryan Sook which was originally published in 1999 as a back-up feature in Hellboy: Box Full of Evil issue one and subsequently collected in the trade paperback B.P.R.D. vol. 1 The Hollow Earth and Other Stories. In 1938, The Lobster was investigating a series of abnormal scientist murders in Upper New York City. A photo discovered in Dr. Skinner's apartment led the Lobster to the last remaining scientist of the original five employed by Zinco; Stanley Corn. It is revealed that Stanley was the head of a top-secret research project at Zinco-Davis, but was fired as a result of his dangerous experiments on brains, including his own. Stanley then attempts to kill The Lobster, his assistant and the police through brain energy waves, but are successfully blocked by a jamming device. In fear of his brain being brought back to "the butchers", he then reveals a revolver and shoots himself in the head. From the hole made by the bullet, his brain emerges and strangles Johnson with a spinal cord, but he manages to break free and smash the jamming device against it, causing an explosion and the "death" of the brain. The Lobster then advises the detective to destroy the evidence and not tell anyone, and claims "I've seen worse things than this". This was later known as "The Stanley Corn affair". 'Conqueror Worm' Johnson next appeared in this four-issue mini-series written and drawn by Mike Mignola published May to August 2001 and subsequently collected in the trade paperback of the same name. In the story Johnson appears to Roger the homunculus and leads him back to Hellboy who contains The Conqueror Worm and destroys Herman von Klempt. Johnson's bullet ridden desiccated corpse is subsequently discovered in the snow. 'Night Train' Johnson next appeared in this one-shot comic book written by Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins with art by Scott Kolins and Dave Stewart was published on September 17, 2003 and subsequently collected in the trade paperback B.P.R.D.: The Soul of Venice and Other Stories. In the story Johnson is first seen in flashback pursuing a Nazi saboteur in Colorado 1939 who kills his assistant and destroys a train carrying scientists and equipment for the Manhattan Project before escaping. Johnson's ghost subsequently appears to Roger in present day Alabama as a spirit guide aiding him in rescuing Liz Sherman and capturing the now aged saboteur. 'The Iron Prometheus' main article: Lobster Johnson: the Iron Prometheus Lobster Johnson eventually starred in his own limited series,Lobster Johnson: the Iron Prometheus, which was published in 2007 by Dark Horse Comics. The story was written by creator Mike Mignola and illustrated by Jason Armstrong. Set in 1937, the tale follows the still-living Johnson as he and his allies face the Nazi threat as well as cannibals and yeti. All in search of the V.E.S. Vril Energy Suit and the power of the Hyperborean"s. Photographs of the Iron Prometheus character " Jim Sacks " can be seen in the B.P.R.D. stories The Dead and Garden of Souls; Johnson's calling card can clearly be seen in the latter story. 'B.P.R.D.: Killing Ground' Lobster Johnson's ghost made a surprise appearance at the conclusion of B.P.R.D.: Killing Ground #4. After the apparent death of Johann Kraus, Kraus's ectoplasmic spirit rose from his corpse. The ectoplasm formed Johnson's ghost, which smashed into the Bureau's infirmary and shot Liz Sherman repeatedly. The shots did not kill Sherman (instead harming a ghost that had possessed her) and Johnson's form vanished. 'Hellboy: Weird Tales' Johnson also appeared in the two-page back-up featurette Doc Hollow's Grand Vibro-Destructo Machine by John Cassaday in all eight issues of the non-canonical limited series published February 2003 to April 2004 and subsequently collected in the trade paperback Hellboy: Weird Tales Volume 2. In the story Johnson attempts to apprehend the Crimson Hood who has stolen the eponymous machine and kidnapped his assistant. Powers and Abilities Lobster Johnson is arguably the most powerful ghost in the Hellboy universe, possessing the ability to turn fully tangible at any moment he chooses, something even the ghost of Rasputin was unable to do. He has shown many times to appear in places that normally be extremely difficult or impossible to reach, indicating that he can either teleport or become intangible/invisible. As in life, Johnson continues to carry his trademark handguns in death, and they have lost none of their effectiveness. Johnson also retains his "claw" brand, which is attatched to his glove, though it is unclear how exactly he heats it; it is most likely done through supernatural means. As a ghost, Lobster Johnson often demonstrates an aloofness or a sense of greater understanding that most heroic characters in Hellboy lack. When Roger asks for his assistance in fighting the Conqueror Worm, Johnson declines, telling Roger that it is a task that he (Roger) must do without him. It is likely that being a ghost has revealed several aspects of the universe to Johnson that are unknowable to the living. After Johnson recharges Roger via a lightning bolt, he is reduced to a skeletal corpse clad in a battered version of his uniform/costume, hinting that Lobster Johnson might still maintain his dead corporeal body even as a ghost.